Blue chips lead nationwide advances

Investors watch market movements at ACB Securities in Ha Noi. Stocks extended gains on both exchanges last week with the two main stock indices advancing, led by blue chips. — VNS Photo Viet Thanh

HA NOI (VNS) — Stocks extended gains on both exchanges last week with the two main stock indices advancing, led by blue chips.

On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index grew 3.79 per cent during the week, closing Friday at 562.02 points, while on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index climbed 1.64 per cent to end at 75.80 points.

Overall trading was sluggish on both markets, however, with the daily market volume on the HCM City exchange down slightly from the previous week, reaching more than 104 million shares worth nearly VND1.52 trillion (US$72 million) per session.

The figure on the Ha Noi exchange was 64.2 million shares, worth VND601.4 billion ($28.5 million) per day, down 8.3 per cent compared with the daily trading volume of the previous week.

The VN30, tracking the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity on the southern market, rose 3.98 per cent to stand at 618 points.

In addition, hot penny stocks such as FLC Group (FLC), Duc Long Gia Lai Group (DLG), Viet Han Corp (VHG), Phu Thinh Metallurgy (PTK), Viet An Corp (AVF) and Huu Lien Asia Corp (HLA) continued to attract inflows of investment. These shares saw trades up to tens of millions of shares per session.

However, profit taking also increased. According to vietstock.vn, securities companies continuously sold shares in the first four sessions of the week, responsible for a net sell value of VND341.6 billion ($16.2 million).

"The selling pressure is getting higher as the market climbs, while smaller profit margins will make buyers more careful when purchasing at high prices," analysts of BIDV Securities Co commented in a note. "The market is likely to adjust down as it approaches a strong resistance level."

According to analysts of FPT Securities Co, many cautious investors are shifting investment to blue chips to avert risks.

"In our opinion, this is a positive move for the market in the short term as it will somewhat reduce the dominance of speculative psychology. However, the lack of supporting information will likely impede the market's growth," they said.